Iain Hayden sweeps CSRA Season Opener

Team Rockstar Energy Polaris Racing's Iain Hayden won both days of the Capital Cup National Snowcross event.

His teammate Lee Butler also nailed down a solid performance in the Pro Open while young up-and-comer Jacob Rosko-Fong raised some eyebrows in the Pro-Lite class.

With two weeks of testing and a race south of the border in Duluth, Minn. behind them, it was a well-prepared team that arrived at Calabogie Peaks on Friday, December 7. In the afternoon Hayden, Butler, and Rosko-Fong hit the track on their potent Polaris IQ sleds to do some practicing and testing for the Canadian season opener.

The set-up that was arrived at by the team’s technicians revealed itself on Saturday, when Hayden totally demolished the competition. The Espanola native took no prisoners in his two heat races, recording definitive 1-1 results. He then went on to lay down a smooth and convincing win in the final.

Butler was also on the gas in his heats, nailing down 1-2 finishes. In the final, he was the only other driver on the track to keep up with Hayden. Although he would mount some challenges for the lead, Butler had to take satisfaction with secondplace at the finish line.

An energized Rosko-Fong nailed down 2-4 heat results in the Pro Lite class, finishing the day with an impressive second place in the final.

On Sunday, with the temperatures taking a serious drop from the day before, the track’s soft snowy surface turned hard and icy. Hayden won his first qualifier but had to settle for second place in qualifier two. When it counted in the final, however, he was back up front leading the pack to record his second win of the weekend and at once grab an 11-points lead in the Pro Open Championship.

Butler again held his own in the heat races and garnered 2-3 results. In the final, which was a gruelling rock ‘em sock ‘em affair, he battled hard for a top five finish. When all was said and done, he just missed the podium, taking fourth at the checkered flag.

In the Pro Lite class, Rosko-Fong was again in the mix, scoring 2-2 finishes in his heat races. In the final he didn’t quite fare as well, running just a bit off the pace but still fast enough to seal the top five with a fifth place finish.

“We came here with a lot of confidence this weekend, because we had done our homework leading up to this event and knew we had the best sleds. Anything can happen, of course, and it isn’t over until it’s over, but we would have been surprised if we didn’t get off to a good start this weekend,” team owner Andre Laurin said.

The Canadian snowcross series goes on lockdown for the Yuletide Season and will resume for Round 2 on the weekend of January 12-13, 2013 in Cochrane, Ontario.